Volunteering to Get Student Debt Down to ‘Zero’

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What: A social entrepreneurism startup that aims to reduce student loan debt through volunteerism

Where: NYC and Northern N.J.

When: 2011

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How: Norrie’s career in social services, first as a policy analyst and more recently as a community resource specialist, got her thinking about the massive amounts of student debt so many educated people find themselves strapped with.

“The more I am hearing about stories of millions of young professionals that are carrying this debt I thought, ‘there has to be a way to get creative about this issue,’” Norrie said. “We turn that debt into an opportunity, and get out into the community.”

Today the company is working on its crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo.com, in order to raise seed money to get off the ground.

Zero Bound works by having students and alumni receive student loan donations in exchange for sponsored volunteerism. Participants receive donations the same way one would for a marathon, she said. Donors determine how much they want to contribute to the recipient per hour, and for how many hours. The platform accepts those donations once volunteering has been completed, and pays them directly to the loan company.

Quote from the owner: “We like to say we are paying it down by paying it forward,” Norrie said.